Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
Medi-Cal To Expand Eligibility To Young Undocumented Adults. But Will They Enroll?
California will become the first state to allow unauthorized immigrant adults to receive full Medicaid coverage when it expands eligibility to people ages 19 to 25 in January. But health officials and immigrant rights advocates wonder whether fear of federal immigration policy combined with a youthful sense of not needing health insurance will keep those young adults from joining. (Ana B. Ibarra, )
Good morning! Here are some of your top California health stories of the day.
In Juul's Early Days, Execs Bragged About The 'Leg Up' Research From Big Tobacco Gave Them On Addiction: Research from the maker of Camel cigarettes showed that nicotine salts were a key ingredient in making the product palatable and addictive, a Los Angeles Times investigation uncovered. Juul’s salts contain up to three times the amount of nicotine found in previous e-cigarettes. They use softening chemicals to allow people to take deeper drags without vomiting or burning their throats. And they were developed based on research conducted by the tobacco companies Juul claimed to be leaving behind. “Reynolds successfully engineered this formula, but it was Juul that ultimately vaporized it — and achieved what Big Tobacco never could,” said Robert Jackler, a Stanford University researcher focused on teenage e-cigarette use. “They studied Reynolds literature, took advantage of it, and addicted a new generation of American youth.” Read more from Emily Baumgaertner of the Los Angeles Times.
Federal Judge In San Francisco Rules Trump Administration Flouted Federal Law With Expanded ‘Conscience’ Rule: Federal law since 1973 has allowed physicians and others directly involved in providing medical care to refuse to take part in abortions or sterilizations, as long as the refusal did not cause “undue hardship” to their employer. The new rule would have allowed refusals by anyone in the health care field, without prior notice. Employers who objected, including entire states, could lose their federal funding. “An ambulance driver would be free, on religious or moral grounds, to eject a patient en route to a hospital upon learning that the patient needed an emergency abortion,” U.S. District Judge William Alsup said in his ruling, the third federal court decision to declare the rule invalid. Read more from Bob Egelko of The San Francisco Chronicle.
Treasure Island ‘Step-Down’ Facility Offers Transition Between Intensive Recovery Services And More Independent Life: The facility on Treasure Island has 72 beds to give residents secure housing while they continue to access outpatient services after completing a 90-day addiction program. The facility, which spans several buildings on the island, features flats with bedrooms, common areas and kitchens. The residents share a dining room, where they can eat a catered breakfast and dinner, and a backyard. Shuttle service takes them to treatment in San Francisco and a staff of mentors help guide them through recovery, personal finances, job searches, social life and goal setting. The program costs about $1.9 million a year, which includes food, transportation, furniture, utilities, staffing and maintenance. Read more from Alejandro Serrano of The San Francisco Chronicle.
Below, check out the full round-up of California Healthline original stories, state coverage and the best of the rest of the national news for the day.
More News From Across The State
Los Angeles Times:
Poll: L.A. County Voters Want Homeless People Gone, Police Help
With tens of thousands of people sleeping outside every night in L.A. County, one of the most contentious debates is over what to do about homeless encampments and who should do it. A new poll conducted for the Los Angeles Times and the Los Angeles Business Council Institute found that a sizable majority of voters countywide think law enforcement should assume a larger role, despite court rulings and settlements limiting such involvement. (Oreskes, 11/19)
Santa Rosa Press Democrat:
Petaluma Valley Hospital Workers To Hold 24-Hour Strike
Union medical technicians and other support staff at Petaluma Valley Hospital are set to participate in a 24-hour strike beginning Wednesday morning. The National Union of Healthcare Workers, which represents between 150 and 160 workers at Petaluma Valley Hospital, said the action was a response to stalled contract talks with St. Joseph Health, which operates both Petaluma Valley and Santa Rosa Memorial hospitals. The union said the system is offering inadequate compensation and benefits, even though the Petaluma hospital is expected to turn a profit this year. St. Joseph Health officials could not be reached Tuesday afternoon. (Espinoza, 11/19)
Ventura County Star:
Gold Coast Health Plan Will Pay Consultant To Be Interim CEO
The financially struggling Gold Coast Health Plan will pay a consultant as much as $450 an hour to serve as the publicly funded organization's interim CEO. Gold Coast's governing board, the Ventura County Medi-Cal Commission, approved a contract Monday night with the national research and consulting firm, Health Management Associates, to temporarily replace former CEO Dale Villani. Commissioners voted last month not to renew Villani's contract, set to expire in May. In a special meeting on Nov. 1, commissioners accepted Villani's immediate resignation. Commissioners did not disclose specific reasons for the parting. (Kisken, 11/19)
Los Angeles Times:
After Child Deaths, Doctors Push To Administer Flu Vaccines At Border
Doctors are pressuring U.S. Customs and Border Protection to allow them to vaccinate detained migrant children against the flu after several died of the disease in federal custody during the past year. The agency has yet to respond to an offer this week to vaccinate 100 migrant parents and children in Border Patrol detention in San Ysidro. The group of seven doctors also offered to send volunteers to vaccinate migrants at Border Patrol holding areas across the country “to prevent a possible flu epidemic,” calling unsanitary detention conditions “cause for significant alarm.” (Hennessy-Fiske, 11/19)
Modesto Bee:
Modesto CA Spends $743K In Wrongful Death Lawsuit
It has cost Modesto nearly $743,000 to resolve a 5-year-old wrongful death lawsuit that alleged its police officers abandoned a mentally ill single mother. She died in a house fire soon after they left, a fire the lawsuit claims the woman “most likely ignited ... (while) in her delusional state.”Amanda Pennaluna, 26, died of smoke and toxic chemical inhalation June 22, 2013, hours after firefighters responded to her Ottawa Court home and after officers had taken her then 4-year-old daughter into protective custody and left Pennaluna alone in the home. (Valine, 11/19)
Los Angeles Times:
Santa Clarita Shooting: Last Of The Injured Students Leaves Hospital
Saugus High School students were allowed on campus Tuesday for the first time since a gunman last week killed two classmates and injured three others.Gunfire on Thursday sent students running from the quad and barricading themselves inside classrooms as the shooter opened fire about 7:30 a.m. Police and witnesses say Nathaniel Berhow, who turned 16 that day, removed a .45-caliber pistol from his backpack and then shot five students before turning the gun on himself. (Reyes-Velarde and Shalby, 11/19)
LAist:
Saugus High School Students Return To Campus After Deadly Shooting
Students returned to Saugus High School on Tuesday for the first time since last week's campus shooting, which left three students dead, including the gunman. School officials allowed students to gather the things they had to leave behind during the deadly incident. (Wagner, 11/19)
Sacramento Bee:
Feds: Tulare CA Woman Sold Smuggled Skin Cream With Mercury
A woman was arrested in California’s Central Valley on Tuesday after federal officials accused her of peddling skin care creams tainted with dangerous levels of mercury. Maria Estela Esparza Magallanes, a 30-year-old Orosi woman, sold skin creams laced with mercury using Facebook ads, promising that the illegal products — smuggled into the United States from Mexico — would treat acne, remove age spots and lighten skin color, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California said in a news release on Tuesday. (Gilmour, 11/19)
CBS News:
California Wildfire Danger: Extreme Wildfire Weather Prompts New Preventive Power Outages For Parts California By PG&E
Pacific Gas & Electric Co. was set to begin shutting off power Wednesday to some 150,000 homes and businesses in parts of 18 Northern and central California counties as the region faced extreme fire weather that's lasted since October, CBS Sacramento reports. A virtually rainless fall has left brush bone-dry and forecasts called for low humidity and winds gusting at times to 55 mph, which could fling tree branches or other debris into power lines, causing sparks that could set off catastrophic fires in the region, PG&E officials said. (11/20)
The New York Times:
Next Democratic Debate: The Top Four Vs. Everyone Else
Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Ind., has recently emerged as a leader in some Iowa polls, and Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont appears re-energized by the endorsement of Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York. But the two candidates at center stage remain the same: former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. Together, these four have separated themselves from the 2020 pack. The debate stage has shrunk since the October clash, with former Representative Beto O’Rourke of Texas quitting the race and the former federal housing secretary Julián Castro failing to qualify. (Goldmacher and Ramic, 11/20)
Reuters:
Where Democratic Presidential Candidates Stand On 'Medicare For All' Ahead Of Next Debate
Perhaps no issue has divided the field of Democratic 2020 presidential hopefuls more than the debate over "Medicare for All." Progressive candidates favor the sweeping proposal, which would replace private health insurance with a single government-run plan. More moderate candidates have embraced less drastic measures they say would achieve universal healthcare coverage while allowing individuals to choose their plan. (11/19)
The New York Times:
The Issues That Got The Most Time At The Debates So Far
Over six nights of debates since June, the Democratic presidential candidates have spent a lot of time talking — 659 minutes in total, or nearly 11 hours. They’ve spent the most time discussing health care, which has become a proxy for the fight between the liberal and moderate wings of the party. Other topics, like climate change and reproductive rights, have received less attention, drawing some complaints. (11/20)
The Washington Post:
Canada Medicare Is Popular Despite Wait Times
When Bryan Keith was diagnosed with prostate cancer three years ago, he underwent a blizzard of tests, specialist consultations, a month of radiation treatment and a surgical procedure. His out-of-pocket costs? Zero. “I’ve never had to reach into my wallet for anything other than my health-care card,” said Keith, 71, who is now in remission. In this picturesque mountain town of about 10,000 people, Keith’s experience is the norm — and the model often cited by Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren as they promote Medicare-for-all as an antidote to some of the problems afflicting U.S. health-care consumers. (Abutaleb, 11/19)
Politico:
Contractor Proposed Glamour Magazine Profile For Medicaid Chief
Newly revealed correspondence shows that federal health officials discussed with contractors a publicity plan to feature President Donald Trump’s Medicare and Medicaid chief Seema Verma in magazines like Glamour, win recognition for her on “Power Women” lists and get her invited to attend prestigious events like the Kennedy Center Honors. The correspondence – emails between high-profile media consultant Pam Stevens, whose services cost hundreds of dollars per hour, and Verma and Brady Brookes, Verma’s deputy chief of staff — offers fresh insight into the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ use of federal funds to employ a range of communications contractors. (Diamond and Cancryn, 11/20)
Politico:
Ernst And Schumer Spar Over Violence Against Women Act
Sen. Joni Ernst is battling with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer over the Violence Against Women Act, with Ernst suggesting Schumer is halting her bill to thwart her reelection campaign and Schumer charging that Ernst is "afraid of the NRA." The rare conflict between the Iowa Republican and New York Democrat underscored the political tension on legislation ahead of next year's election, when Ernst will be fighting to win a second term and Schumer will be leading the charge to defeat her. Ernst's seat is one of a half-dozen competitive seats being targeted by Democrats in 2020. (Levine and Everett, 11/19)
The Associated Press:
Trump Says He Went Through ‘Very Routine Physical’
President Donald Trump said Tuesday he went through a “very routine physical” when he visited Walter Reed National Military Medical Center over the weekend. The president complained that first lady Melania Trump and some of his staff members expressed concern about his health based on media reports about Saturday’s trip to the hospital. He said it’s the media that’s “sick.” (11/19)
The Associated Press:
Oxy Sales In China Driven By Misleading Addiction Claims
Thousands of lawsuits across the United States have accused a drug company owned by the billionaire Sackler family of using false claims to push highly addictive opioids on an unsuspecting nation, fueling the deadliest drug epidemic in U.S. history. Yet, even as its U.S. drugmaker collapses under the charges, another company owned by the family has used the same tactics to peddle its signature painkiller, OxyContin, in China, according to interviews with current and former employees and documents obtained by the Associated Press. (Kinetz, 11/20)
The Washington Post:
Pharmacy Chains Face October 2020 Trial Over Their Role In The Opioid Crisis
Seeking to kick-start the sprawling nationwide opioid litigation, a federal judge on Tuesday scheduled a trial against major pharmacy chains for next October and proposed sending three other cases back to other federal courts where they originated. Judge Dan Aaron Polster, the Ohio federal judge in charge of the nearly 2,500 lawsuits filed against the drug industry in federal courts across the country, said he would preside over a case that pits two Ohio counties, Summit and Cuyahoga, against some of the nation’s largest pharmacy chains. (Bernstein, 11/19)